


Resurrection of the Deep

by PaytonConnors



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Kane Chronicles - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-17
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2018-09-25 01:09:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9795533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaytonConnors/pseuds/PaytonConnors
Summary: About two years after the war with Gaea, the next Great Prophecy is foretold. A mysterious stranger has stolen Poseidon's trident with the intention of summoning the ancient creatures known as the Deep.





	

In hindsight, it was really rather foolish to believe that Gaea was the end of all opposition to the gods. The primordial deity had been defeated—at least in the sense that her complete awakening had been stopped—but she had exposed the fragility of the gods to the supernatural world. History and common sense suggested it was only a matter of time before someone else rose up against the gods—Greek, Roman, or otherwise. But Percy Jackson had thought that he would have been long dead when that time came.

In his lifetime, the son of Poseidon had fought and survived two godly wars and two Great Prophecies. Any demigod would tell you that simply surviving to young adulthood was a miracle; going through what Percy had was unheard of. He, however, was not the only demigod to have done the impossible. His girlfriend and daughter of Athena, Annabeth Chase, had been at his side since the beginning. It wouldn’t have been far from the truth to say that without her wisdom and strategy, he would’ve been dead a long time ago. Jason Grace, Piper McLean, and Leo Valdez had also risked life and limb to help put Gaea back to rest. Leo, the ridiculous mechanic genius that he was, had managed to put the final nail in Gaea’s coffin by blowing himself up, only to bring himself back to life with a potion he’d acquired earlier in their adventures. Of course, Leo didn’t tell anyone about his plan so there had been a span of a couple months where both Greek and Roman camps had mourned his valiant death while he traipsed around the world, trying to find his way back to Camp Half-Blood. His friends were both indescribably relieved and infuriated to discover he was alive. Leo wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

The only demigod that could be said to have endured more suffering and pain than Percy Jackson was Nico di Angelo. To Percy, that was no comparison. Nico was a son of Hades, shunned by the camps because of his father and the powers that were his birthright. No one was sure exactly how long he’d been trapped in the Underworld, but it had left an indelible mark on his soul. With his loyal boyfriend, Will Solace, at his side, Nico had begun to defrost a little. Still, the dark circles beneath his pensive eyes remained permanent facial features and he retained an air of eerie detachment.

All of this is to say that this group of friends had been to Hell and back, and it would only be fair for them to live the rest of their lives in peaceful normality. But when had life ever been fair?

***

Rachel Dare sat in the once dank attic of the Big House at Camp Half-Blood. The two-story, baby blue house served as the main administrative building for the camp, housing the infirmary; Chiron’s office and apartment; the rec room; a storage basement; and the attic which had previously held the decomposing body of the past oracle.

Being the current oracle, Rachel felt a certain homey familiarity for the attic of the Big House. She had her own cabin, but often returned here when she wanted a meditative place in which to paint, read, or just be alone. For the last week, she had been obsessed with water paintings. She chose a decapitated, crystallized head as the subject for her newest piece. Rachel balanced the canvas on her crossed legs and squinted at the head, wondering what kind of quest the demigod had gone on to obtain such a trophy. Her eyes never left the head’s as she dipped the paintbrush in the puddle of gunmetal gray and swiped the bristles across the canvas.

Time slipped away while Rachel recreated the subject the way she saw it in her mind’s eye. Whether a few minutes or a few hours had passed was impossible to say. Moth-bitten, dusty curtains covered the single circular window on the front-facing wall. Rachel didn’t even realize how hungry she was until Chiron popped his head through the attic door and called her to dinner. She shook her head as if to dislodge some mental cobwebs and shakily rose to her feet. Rachel wobbled to the dining hall on numb legs, relishing the sensation of feeling returning to her limbs.

The Dining Pavilion was an open-air space comprised of a concrete rectangle foundation dotted with twenty wooden tables—one for each cabin—that were draped with white table cloths, trimmed with regal violet. The perimeter was framed by pearly white Greek columns, inside which torches blazed. A bronze brazier roughly the size of a bathtub stood in the center and it was here that the demigods offered a portion of their meals to the gods and goddesses they were descended from. At the head of the pavilion was the table at which Chiron and other various camp leaders sat.

Each god and goddess had a table at which their descendants sat—exclusively. It was forbidden to sit at another god’s table. Rachel, however, being the Oracle of Delphi, sat at the front table with Chiron. She waved to friends and greeted fellow campers as she passed the tables on the way to her seat. The Hermes table was overrun as usual. Percy and Jason sat alone. Being a child of one of the Big Three made for quite the lonely meal, but they seemed to have found an answer to this problem; they simply yelled to their friends from across the Dining Pavilion.

Dinner had been underway for about fifteen minutes when Rachel felt the growing nerves of a prophecy.

In theory, being the Oracle of Delphi seems like a cool job, but it had its disadvantages. One of them being the fact that the Oracle can’t stop a prophecy from coming. The host falls into a trance no matter where they are or what they’re doing. The first couple of times it happened, Rachel didn’t realize what had happened until it was already over. By now, though, she could sense when a prophecy was bubbling up inside her. Still…this time felt different. A knot formed in Rachel’s gut and her heart beat violently against her ribcage. A foreboding feeling washed over her and just before she lost control, she understood why.

“Half-bloods, centaurs, satyrs, and the like,” the Oracle spoke through Rachel’s lips. Her voice echoed within her, creating the sense that a dozen Rachel’s were speaking at once. “I bring you the words of your next Great Prophecy…

The heroes of Olympus find allies anew  
The Deep ascends for a promised coup  
Ancient factions must fight as one  
Lest it end with the devoured sun  
A heart to hold three spirits together  
A life must be given to sever the tether.”

Rachel blinked and the world came rushing back. She allowed a shiver to run its course through her body, then turned to the audience of campers.  
The Dining Pavilion was silent. Even the satyrs had ceased eating. All eyes were fixed on Rachel, the campers’ expressions ranging anywhere from confusion to downright horror. Somewhere in the back, a girl stifled a sob. Rachel didn’t blame her. The last Great Prophecy had foretold the awakening of Gaea, the death of all half-bloods, and basically the end of the world.

Percy’s voice broke the silence—loud, clear, and obviously annoyed: “AW, COME ON! YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!”

***

Chiron dismissed the campers and asked that they all return to their cabins in an orderly manner. He fielded question after question as he ushered everyone inside. The cabin counselors assisted as best they could, assuring the younger campers that the veterans knew what they were doing and smiling through gritted teeth. The only people that hung back, exchanging looks with one another, were the six demigods referenced in the first verse of the prophecy: Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Leo, and Nico. They huddled in a loose circle in the center of the Dining Pavilion, talking amongst themselves. Rachel sat on the edge of the nearest table, repeating verses when prompted. After checking for stragglers, Chiron rejoined them.

“Do you know what it means?” Piper asked.

Chiron shifted uncomfortably on his four hooves. “As a whole, I haven’t the slightest,” he admitted. “The first verse seems straightforward enough, though.”

“Yeah—it’s talking about us,” Percy said, sweeping his arms in exasperation. “Again.”

“And here I thought we could visit camp during our summer break in peace,” Annabeth said.

“I knew it was too good to be true,” Jason added.

The four eldest—Percy, Annabeth, Jason, and Piper—had just completed their first years in college and had returned to stay at Camp Half-Blood for summer vacation. Leo was eighteen and in his last year before heading off to the University of Texas at Austin to study engineering. Nico was seventeen with two years of camp left. Since the four had left, camp had become rather mundane. Not that Leo or Nico would admit it.

“Maybe it’s talking about another, different group of heroes of Olympus,” Leo said.

Everyone gave Leo the side eye.

Chiron cleared his throat. “Let’s finish this discussion first thing tomorrow morning. Meet me in my office right after breakfast.”

No one slept well that night, if they slept at all. Percy tossed and turned, unable to shake an odd feeling nagging at the back of his mind. The Poseidon cabin’s silence only intensified the unease. It wasn’t until the early hours of the next morning that exhaustion finally allowed Percy to fall asleep. But it was far from being restful.

The second Percy’s eyes shut, he knew he’d fallen into one of his prophetic dreams. Much like lucid dreaming, he was aware that he was asleep. His subconscious dropped him somewhere underwater. He felt the seabed beneath his feet and the familiar rush of the currents as they passed by. Groping about in the dark, Percy fumbled for some kind of object that might tell him where he was. He ran into three walls, two pillars, and tripped twice before finding a light source. Percy didn’t know its purpose when he came across the oddly shaped object, but it came alive with luminescence upon his touch. A soft purple glow illuminated the immediate area, emanating from a lone jellyfish. Then, like a chain reaction, another jellyfish a foot away burst into light, quickly followed by another, then another, and another. Soon, the entire room was brilliant with purple light. Percy finally recognized where he was—Poseidon’s personal chambers.

The seabed served as the floor while the walls and majority of the furniture was made from seashells, coral, and rock. Dappled moonlight filtered in through the window that hung over the headboard of Poseidon’s bed. Anglerfish swam by outside, their lanterns dangling in front of them as they searched the darkness for their next meal. Poseidon himself was nowhere to be seen, but his treasured trident stood tall and proud on its platform. The flawless gold shimmered in the pastel light of the jellyfish, accentuating the dreamy feel of it all. The prongs were still as sharp as the day the weapon was forged.

Percy scanned the room, but there was no sign of life besides his own. It was very unlike Poseidon to leave his trident out of hand, let alone unprotected.

“Poseidon?” Percy called.

He was only met with silence.

Percy moved towards the door and made to grab the pearl knob when it began to turn itself. He backed away and cast about for a hiding place. The door swung open on soundless hinges and Percy dove for the closest thing he could find—the wardrobe. Just as the figure emerged from the doorway, Percy pressed himself into the myriad of Hawaiian shirts Poseidon had accumulated over his lifetime. With shallow breaths, he peered through the hairline crack he’d left for an opening between the wardrobe doors. 

The figure was shadowed in Mist, obscuring any discernible features. It was humanoid in shape, but the way it moved was unnatural. It lurched forward, each limb taking turns twitching and arching as if an electric current was alternating through its body. It swung its head from side to side. Even though Percy knew this was only a dream, his breath caught in his throat when the figure’s head came to rest on the wardrobe. It lingered for a second more, then turned its gaze towards the trident and continued its lurching gait.

Percy suddenly understood the sinister feeling that had kept him up all night. He understood why the imbalance had felt so personal, why he couldn’t shake the nagging at the back of his mind. When the figure’s hand clamped down on the trident’s shaft, Percy felt sick to his stomach.

It wrenched the trident from the platform and Percy couldn’t help himself. He threw open the wardrobe doors and charged.

“Drop it!” Percy yelled. He tried to tackle the figure, but fell through it as if it were indeed a shadow, with no solid purchase. He slammed into the seabed, sending a swirl of sand into the water. Rolling over onto his back, Percy propped himself up by the elbows and helplessly watched as the shadow disappeared into the dark, Poseidon’s trident in hand.

Percy shot up in bed, drenched in sweat, breathing hard, and heart beating wildly. He jumped to his feet and found that the sun had already risen. Quickly throwing on a pair of jeans and a camp t-shirt, Percy barely slowed to a jog as he grabbed some breakfast on his way to the Big House. Everyone else was already there.

Annabeth gave him a once over, then went to his side and intertwined her hand in his. Percy was still amazed at how perceptive she was; she didn’t need him to say a single word to know what he was thinking. Her stormy gray eyes bore into his.

“Percy, what’s wrong?” She asked.

Percy tightened his grip on Annabeth’s hand. He held her gaze for a moment, then turned to face the group. “I know what this quest is about…somebody stole Poseidon’s trident.”

Leo spat out the chocolate milk he was drinking all over Chiron’s desk. And a little bit all over Chiron’s face.

The centaur kept a stoic expression as he calmly wiped the milk from his beard. “I think what Mr. Valdez was trying to say is: how do you know that?”

“I saw it in a dream last night,” Percy explained. He quickly recounted what he had seen, all too aware that it didn’t offer much help. He had no idea who, or what, had taken the trident. He had no idea why the figure had taken it. And he had no idea where it had disappeared to.

Chiron leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. He heaved a sigh and, when he spoke, it was with a voice that betrayed his age. “Suffice to say we are at the edge of a very precarious situation. If we want to avoid the consequences of such a theft, we need to act quickly.”

“What exactly are the consequences?” Piper asked. “What kind of powers does the trident have?”

“Anyone who possesses the trident of Poseidon has command over the oceans,” Chiron explained. “As well as command over whatever creatures are water-born. As it is, the world is mostly made up of water so you can imagine the carnage someone with such power could wreak.”

“So, basically, the end of the world.” Leo said through a mouthful of blueberry muffin.

“I’m afraid it seems that way,” Chiron agreed.

“But what does Poseidon’s trident have to do with the prophecy?” Jason asked. “It can’t be coincidence that it’s stolen the same day that we get the next Great Prophecy.”

A hush fell over the room. Prophecies were infamous for their vague directions. They often raised more questions than answers. Sometimes it was exciting—being given the opportunity to adventure across the country trying to solve riddles—but in this case, it was more detrimental than anything else. With the trident already in the wrong hands, there was no telling when the end-of-the-world business would begin. The heroes were racing against a clock that had been started before they even knew they were in the race.

Chiron rose to his hooves and walked to the door, clapping Percy on the back as he went. “Standing around here worrying won’t do any good. Go on with your days—train, plan battle strategies…build things and set them on fire—and I will see what I can find out.”

Ignoring their protests, the centaur ushered the demigods out the door and down the steps of the Big House. They reluctantly obeyed and disbanded to join their classes. The sun beat down overhead like it did every day. The birds chirped and the lake lapped at the edge of the beach. Despite the beautiful weather, Chiron couldn’t help but fear an oncoming storm.

***

The dinner bell rang throughout the grounds and campers streamed in from everywhere to pile their plates. Everyone was doing their best to act normal, but as Percy and his friends arrived at the Dining Pavilion, fear and anxiety got the better of their fellow campers and they were swarmed. Everyone wanted to know what their plan was, what the prophecy meant, if Leo was going to blow himself up again. Percy was considering barricading himself inside the Poseidon cabin when Rachel’s voice roared over the crowd.

“Shame on you!” She exclaimed. The redhead had clambered onto the nearest cabin’s table so that she could look every last camper in the eye as she talked. “I just got this prophecy last night and you already want them to have all the answers?! Give them a break! Leave them alone and let them work! When they know something, you’ll know something! So let’s just sit down and eat dinner, shall we?”

While Nico snuck into the spot beside Will and the girls remained in the pavilion, Percy, Jason, and Leo weren’t feeling up to much socializing. They grabbed what they could from the buffet, offered their portion to the brazier, and wandered off to look for a quieter place to eat. They ended up in the outermost line of trees in the forest. An old tree stump served as their table and the ground was their seats. The conversation was awkward and forced. The guys fell into a consensual silence until one of them couldn’t stand it anymore.

“You’d think—just this once—our parents would at leAST TRY TO HELP US OUT!” Leo’s growing shouts disturbed the birds in a nearby tree, causing them all to take flight in a rustle of feathers. He rolled his eyes and heaved an exasperated sigh.

Percy and Jason understood; they felt the same way. The guys finished their dinner in strained silence. No one knew what to say. The reason they’d stolen away to the forest to eat was to avoid the prying eyes and unanswerable questions. They were all rising from their spots in the grass when the buzz of electricity filled the air. It made their hair stand on end. Their ears began to ring. There was a great rush of wind and an ear-splitting crack as the tree stump caught fire. Percy and Jason spun around to look at Leo.

Leo threw his hands up in the air. “That isn’t me! I’m not doing anything!”

Then, just as swiftly as it had been engulfed, the flames on the stump began to wane. The wood appeared to absorb the fire, the tongues slipping down between the crevices, until all that was left as evidence of the fire was a scorch mark on the base. Leo was the first to notice and knelt down to inspect it further. Percy and Jason followed suit, all three pushing their heads together to examine the scorch mark. It didn’t take long for them to realize it was the mark of a god. Leo slowly turned his head up to the sky and, laughing uneasily, squeaked, “thanks, dude.”

Practically tripping over one another, the guys rushed to the Big House to call another quest meeting in Chiron’s office. Nico and the girls had barely opened the door when Leo began explaining what had happened. He described the scorch marks as a pair of torches crossed over each other.

“That’s the symbol of Hecate,” Annabeth said.

“Alright!” Jason clapped his hands together, relieved to finally have a direction. “So Lou Ellen is one of our new allies.”

“Not Lou Ellen.”

Everyone turned to the corner of the small office where Nico leaned against the wall. It was impossible to tell if he was more pensive than usual. His arms were folded across his chest, covered by a long sleeved black shirt he wore under his Camp Half-Blood one. He pulled himself off the wall and continued, “the child of Hecate we’re looking for is Sarah Porter.”

“No offense, but what makes you so sure?” Annabeth asked. “It makes more sense to take the Hecate cabin counselor.”

“I know Sarah,” Nico said, “and trust me, she’s the one we want.”

There was a sense of concealment to Nico’s words and there was something in his eyes that told Percy he knew more than he was letting on. His tone was adamant—he knew without a doubt that this specific daughter of Hecate needed to be one of their new allies. Percy was instantly curious: how did Nico know her? What did he know about her? How was she supposed to help them? If she were ranked high in any class, Percy would know her name. Sarah Porter was a stranger to him, but Nico di Angelo wasn’t. Percy had known that son of Hades for years and if there was one thing he learned from their friendship, it was that Nico’s instincts had eerie accuracy.

“I trust you,” Percy said, a bit louder than was necessary. “Guys?”

“Yeah, sure,” Leo shrugged.

“Okay,” Annabeth conceded.

“Sounds good to me,” Piper said.

“Me too,” Jason added.

“Great! So, who’s gonna tell this girl what she’s gotten herself into?”

Nico volunteered to give Sarah the bad news. He knew she’d take it best from him. She was terribly shy around people she didn’t know well which, unfortunately, was basically everyone except him.

Sarah had arrived at Camp Half-Blood long before he had, but hadn’t had much luck making friends. Social interaction made her uncomfortable and interacting within a large group, such as a camp, only made it worse. She rarely spoke unless spoken to first and preferred solitude to the pressures of company. Nico had first noticed her after the war with Gaea; a month or so had passed and the air of tension had dissipated. Routine had returned and lessons had resumed. Nico was wandering the camp grounds with Will, not yet used to his boyfriend’s incessant sunniness, when he noticed her huddled beneath a tree. Her knees were tucked almost to her chest with only an open book to separate them. What had caught his eye was the air surrounding Sarah; it shimmered and fluctuated, as if he were looking at her through water. When he asked Will about her, Will shot him an odd look and said that there wasn’t anyone there. Later that evening, Nico found her by the edge of the lake with the same flickering air about her. She seemed only mildly surprised that he could see her. It took him four months to get a real conversation out of her. As it turned out, Sarah spent most of her day shrouded in a Mist of invisibility of her own doing. Nico was all too familiar with that kind of mindset.

Nico knocked on the door to the Hecate cabin, ever wary of loose bricks. The last thing he needed right now was to be turned into a pig. When a minute passed with no answer, he tried again. The feeling of being watched crept up his spine and he turned to find Sarah leaning against the corner of the cabin.

“How long have you been standing there?” Nico asked her.

Sarah smiled. “Long enough to know that my Mist is getting better.”

Nico tried to force a smile, but thought better of it and kept his frown. Sarah noticed and her smile faded as well. She could tell his grim expression was about more than his usual personality. Her whole demeanor changed in an instant; her posture straightened, her eyes narrowed, and her muscles tensed.

Part of her wanted to remain in glorious ignorance, but she asked anyway, “what’s happened?”

Nico explained their thoughts on the prophecy, as well as Percy’s dream, and then his own nomination of her as their chosen child of Hecate. He had never known Sarah to be overly emotive, but he expected some kind of emotional reaction from her. She, however, remained impassive while he talked and, once he’d finished, just nodded, asked what she’d need to pack and when they’d planned to leave.

“That’s a conversation to have with the entire team,” Nico said. “They’re waiting for us in Chiron’s office.”

Sarah followed Nico back to the Big House, scanning the camp as they went. Night had fallen a while ago and most of the campers had retired to their cabins. Light flickered from the windows and conversation floated on the breeze. The voices were more subdued than usual, the overall mood sobered by the prospect of another war on the horizon. What had seemed like a far off nightmare just yesterday was quickly clawing its way into Sarah’s reality. She had spent the last two wars on the sidelines more or less, always assigned to behind-the-scenes duties, and now she was being dragged to the frontlines whether she liked it or not. It would have been a lie, though, to say that this turn of events had taken Sarah entirely by surprise. Much like Rachel could feel an oncoming prophecy and Percy could feel a disturbance with his father’s watery domain, Sarah had been harboring a heavy heart for the past couple of weeks. Now she knew why. Karma had finally found her.

She was so inside her own head, Sarah didn’t realize she’d entered Chiron’s office until she was bombarded by a flurry of voices. Her mind snapped back to the present and she took in the room and its inhabitants.

Chiron sat behind his desk, his hands folded politely in front of him. Sarah could tell that his composure was an active behavior; his darkened eyes betrayed how tired he truly was. He opened his mouth to speak, but Percy jumped in before he could get so much as a syllable out.

“Hey, Sarah,” he greeted her with a friendly smile that actually reached his sea green eyes. He had a splash of jet black hair and sun-kissed skin that reminded Sarah of a surfer. “I’m Percy,” he continued the introductions and gestured to each of his friends as he named them, “and this is Leo…”

Sitting on the desk, much to Chiron’s disdain, was a son of Hephaestus whom Sarah recognized as the one who’d managed to resurrect himself. He had lightly browned skin and a mess of curly dark hair that framed a cheerful face. His Camp Half-Blood t-shirt was tucked into a utility belt that rivaled Batman’s. A pair of ash-covered goggles hung from around his neck. He flashed a mischievous smile.

“This is Piper…”

Piper was a beautiful Native American girl who easily passed as a daughter of Aphrodite. Her brown hair was pulled into a braid that fell just past her shoulders. She wore the typical camp attire—orange t-shirt and shorts. Her right wrist was decorated with bracelets, each with its own unique design. She offered Sarah a smile and a small wave.

“That’s Jason…”

Jason stood out against the warm, dark colors of Chiron’s office with his shockingly blonde hair and electric blue eyes. Although he’d initially come from the Roman camp, he’d since been welcomed as an honorary member of Camp Half-Blood. An SPQR tattoo was a permanent reminder of his beginnings. His eyes flicked over to Piper and he took her hand in his. Feeling as if she were spying on a private moment, Sarah averted her eyes and looked to the next person.

“And this is the brilliant, beautiful, wonderful—”

“Percy!”

“butalsosometimesverygrumpy…Annabeth!”

The daughter of Athena rolled her eyes, but couldn’t hide the smile spreading across her lips. Everyone in camp knew these two were sweethearts. Annabeth’s blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail, clearing the view of her stormy gray eyes. She smiled at Sarah and welcomed her onto the team.

Sarah dipped her head in polite response to the greetings, but remained quiet. She stole a sideways glance at Nico, who shrugged in a reassuring, they’ll-grow-on-you kind of way.

“So,” Nico said, putting them back on track, “what supplies do we need and when are we gonna leave?”

“Pack the usual stuff,” Jason stepped in to explain. He seemed to catch that Nico’s question hadn’t been asked for himself, but for the new girl who didn’t want to look ignorant in front of her new team. “Pack as much as you can in one backpack—you don’t want to be weighed down. If this is gonna be anything like the other quests, we’ll be doing a lot of running. Don’t forget your weapons, medical supplies, a spare change of clothes…” Jason spoke at length, boring most of the company into a stupor, while Sarah did her best to listen, but appear as if she already knew all of it. At last, Jason came to the end and finished with their departure time. “Get this done tonight because we are leaving first thing tomorrow. Meet in front of the Big House at dawn. Don’t be late.”

With that, the group split up to return to their respective cabins and begin packing. As they dispersed across the cabin area, a tense air fell over each of the demigods. Their fellow cabinmates watched with bated breath, all too aware that their friend may not be coming back. Percy, Nico, and Jason felt the emptiness of the unused bunks all around them now more than ever. The Athena, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus cabins were full of hushed encouragements and pieces of advice. At least the Athena and Aphrodite cabins were hushed. The Hephaestus cabin was alight with whirring cogs and demigods talking over one another, arguing about what inventions Leo should take with him. Molotov cocktails were suggested. Molotov cocktails were denied. Grudgingly.

Sarah quietly closed the door to the Hecate cabin and moved to her bunk without touching the light switch. She and Lou Ellen had never been close. The beginning and end of their relationship was that of camper and counselor.

The darkness presented no problems. Sarah had spent so much time in this cabin she could move about effortlessly in the dark without disturbing her counselor. She pulled her backpack out from under her bunk and something heavy settled in her stomach as she felt its weight. She only stuffed a few more boxes of assorted medical supplies into her backpack before climbing into bed; she didn’t bother changing clothes. Lou Ellen didn’t even stir when Sarah woke up the next morning, shouldered her backpack, sheathed her sword, and crept out the front door.

The company left camp while everyone still slept.


End file.
